Hello makeup fans! 😉
The new 2018 Christmas collection from Chanel just dropped yesterday! Check it out here in all its glory. All the items in the collection are limited editions, so you’ll need to hurry if you spot anything you like! Chanel counters may only be getting as few as 3 pieces of a given item, and I expect them to vanish in an instant, really…
In the UK, the collection includes:
- Le Lion de Chanel (a gold/peach toned festive highlighter)
- Ombre première single eyeshadows (four of them: 905 – Electrum Lamé, 906 – Vert lamé, 907 – Cuivre lamé, 908 – Noir lamé)
- Rouge Allure Velvet (in N°5, a vibrant red)
- Rouge Coco Gloss (two shades: 808 – Liquid Bronze and 812 – Flaming Lips)
- La Palette Charactère (a lipstick palette containing 5 red-based tones)
- Le Vernis (in two new shades: 917 – Opulence and 918 – Flamboyance)
I’ve picked up a few things: three of the four eyeshadow singles, one of the glosses, as well as one of the nail polishes. I decided to skip the highlighter since I thought I have enough of those to work through already – actually, that is probably true of just about anything make-up related…! So really, I only picked up the things I just couldn’t face leaving without, and would later feel sorry to have missed…
Here they are:
Quality-wise, all these items are spectacular… The shadows are very intensely pigmented, ultra blendable and soft. I also like that they have very tasteful (yet visible) shimmer particles in them – Vert Lamé is a good example of this. The shimmer does in fact contribute to a sort of ‘festive vibe’, but it never enters glittery, Christmas cliché territory. The shades work together in perfect synergy to create sophisticated looks, with a great deal of depth (actually check out Lily Depp’s look here to get an idea). I am a bit disappointed that Chanel didn’t just pop all four shades into one single palette…! It would have been stunning and much more portable. But now I’m just being picky 😉
You can see in the swatches below just how pigmented these Ombres Premières are:
Beside them, you’ll be able to see the Rouge Coco Gloss in 812 – Flaming Lips. It is just stunning… it’s super metallic and looks a bit like molten lava (!). Again, very festive, but not in a way that looks overdone or cliché… You can trust Chanel to strike that perfect balance. 😉 It also feels extremely comfortable on the lips, and not at all gritty. If you can still find this online or at counters, I’d say go for it – don’t even spend time debating it!
Finally, Le Vernis in 917 – Opulence. Here I had a choice between getting this vs. 918 – Flamboyance (which is pretty much the nail polish version of the Flaming Lips gloss, check it out here). I decided against Flamboyance, because I for one tend to prefer high-shine red nail polish, when it is without shimmer. Having said that, Flamboyance does look wonderful too. Its counterpart in the collection (the shade I did end up with), Opulence, is very intriguing… I’d describe it as a duochrome shade (which the picture above sadly doesn’t convey). Depending on the angle and lighting, it shifts between that rich, metallic burgundy, and a warm molten brown – which is very similar to Cuivre Lamé actually!
Are you planning on picking any of these up, or have you already? And what are your favourite products for winter looks?
Lex
The Cat's Eye 